Flame

A flame is a mixture of reacting gases and solids emitting visible,

infrared, and sometimes ultraviolet light, the frequency spectrum of
which depends on the chemical composition of the burning material
and intermediate reaction products. In many cases, such as the
burning of organic matter, for example wood, or the incomplete
combustion of gas, incandescent solid particles called soot produce
the familiar red-orange glow of "fire". This light has a continuous
spectrum. Complete combustion of gas has a dim blue color due to the
emission of single-wavelength radiation from various electron
transitions in the excited molecules formed in the flame. Usually
oxygen is involved, but hydrogen burning in chlorine also produces a
flame, producing hydrogen chloride (HCl). Other possible
combinations producing flames, amongst many, are fluorine and
hydrogen, and hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. Hydrogen and
hydrazine/UDMH flames are similarly pale blue, while burning boron
and its compounds, evaluated in mid-20th century as a high energy
fuel for jet and rocket engines, emits intense green flame, leading to
its informal nickname of "Green Dragon".

The glow of a flame is complex. Black-body radiation is emitted from

soot, gas, and fuel particles, though the soot particles are too small to
behave like perfect blackbodies. There is also photon emission by de-
excited atoms and molecules in the gases. Much of the radiation is
emitted in the visible and infrared bands. The color depends on
temperature for the black-body radiation, and on chemical makeup for
the emission spectra. The dominant color in a flame changes with
temperature. The photo of the forest fire in Canada is an excellent
example of this variation. Near the ground, where most burning is
occurring, the fire is white, the hottest color possible for organic
material in general, or yellow. Above the yellow region, the color
changes to orange, which is cooler, then red, which is cooler still.
Above the red region, combustion no longer occurs, and the
uncombusted carbon particles are visible as black smoke.

The common distribution of a flame under normal gravity conditions

depends on convection, as soot tends to rise to the top of a general
flame, as in a candle in normal gravity conditions, making it yellow.
In micro gravity or zero gravity,[8] such as an environment in outer
space, convection no longer occurs, and the flame becomes spherical,
with a tendency to become more blue and more efficient (although it
may go out if not moved steadily, as the CO 2 from combustion does
not disperse as readily in micro gravity, and tends to smother the
flame). There are several possible explanations for this difference, of
which the most likely is that the temperature is sufficiently evenly
distributed that soot is not formed and complete combustion occurs. [9]
Experiments by NASA reveal that diffusion flames in micro gravity
allow more soot to be completely oxidized after they are produced
than diffusion flames on Earth, because of a series of mechanisms that
behave differently in micro gravity when compared to normal gravity
conditions.[10] These discoveries have potential applications in applied
science and industry, especially concerning fuel efficiency.
In combustion engines, various steps are taken to eliminate a flame.
The method depends mainly on whether the fuel is oil, wood, or a
high-energy fuel such as jet fuel.